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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578942">Boarded</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotDogHowitzer/pseuds/HotDogHowitzer'>HotDogHowitzer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Infinity Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Halo (Video Games) &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Infinity Week, Writing Prompt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:55:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotDogHowitzer/pseuds/HotDogHowitzer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being new to the rank, Tom has got a lot of expectations to meet as Captain of the UNSC's flagship, especially considering former captain Del Rio's mistakes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Infinity Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933294</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Boarded</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"It was a smash and grab, they came here just for <em>her</em>!" Palmer slammed her fist into the holotable with enough force to make the display flicker, leaving behind a large dent. An uneasy silence settled over the bridge as Lasky glared at the spot where Halsey had vanished only seconds earlier, wondering how he could have let such a valuable asset be spirited away right in front of his eyes. </p><p>The flash of anger was too much for him to contain.<br/><br/>"FUCK!" <br/><br/>Both Sarah and Roland started, then looked at him in surprise. It wasn't like him to yell, or <em>swear</em> while on duty.<br/><br/>"Captain?" Roland asked quietly. "Are you alright?"<br/><br/>Lasky rubbed his eyes with one hand, and let out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His heart was still racing from the adrenaline, and his emotions were running high. <em>Infinity</em> -his ship - had been invaded with frightening ease. All because they'd been poking at some artifact like monkeys trying to use a data pad.<br/><br/>"I'm fine Roland, but that might be a different story when Osman finds out about this." Lasky clicked on the safety and set the shotgun aside. Hopefully he wouldn't need it again anytime soon.<br/><br/>The AI crossed his arms over his chest and for once, offered no witty opinions on the situation as Palmer stalked over to Tom.</p><p>"We'll get Halsey back," the spartan grumbled. "...Whether we get her back in one piece depends entirely on her."<br/><br/>"<em>We don't even know where she went, Sarah</em>! All we know is that she was talking to somebody prior to this and now she's gone! Roland!" He paused for a beat to calm himself. "Damage report." <br/><br/>Now that the anger had faded, anxiety began to seep into his mind. What was going to happen now? What secrets would she divulge to the enemy? ONI was going to have his head for this, possibly his commission....Roland's voice pulled him out of his thoughts as the AI gave him the requested damage report. <br/><br/>"Ninety-three percent of the ship has been cleared of hostiles, Marines and Spartans are dealing with the stragglers now. Damage and casualties reported on all decks. I'll compile a more thorough breakdown as more information comes in, sir."<br/><br/>Tom nodded. "Is there any trace of a signal or anything at all that might tell us where she was taken?"<br/><br/>Roland brought up a holoprojection of Requiem. "There's no sign of Dr. Halsey," he said, "but Majestic just located Spartan Thorne and Dr. Glassman here."<br/><br/>"Holy shit." Palmer stepped closer to the projection. "Are they both alive?"<br/><br/>"Worse for wear, but definitely alive. The artifact must have transported them to Reqiuem--and to the same location. I'll bet Halsey isn't too far from wherever it took the two of them."<br/><br/>It wasn't concrete by a long shot; Requiem was riddled through with translocation pathways, as they'd learned on thier first visit. But it was something, which was always better than nothing. <br/><br/>"Where are they?" Tom asked, sounding a little too hopeful for his own liking.<br/><br/>"Majestic found them in this sector." Roland highlighted one area of the projection, producing a terrain map of the hilighted area. "Spartan DeMarco reported heavy Promethean activity nearby, and a Sangheili assassin. It sounds like the Covenant have a base in the same general area..." He paused momentarily. "And it looks like our Spartans found a map."<br/><br/>"A map? A map for what?"  Tom stepped closer to the holotank, hoping the find would prove useful.<br/><br/>"I can't be sure yet, but... it looks like a map of Forerunner sites."<br/><br/>Palmer leaned closer, scrutinizing the map. "That would explain why the Covies always seem to pop out of nowhere. Maybe that's where Jul 'Mdama's been hiding--in one of those warrens."<br/><br/>"That won't make retrieving Halsey any easier if that's where she is. Still...it's better than a knife to the kidney while I sleep."<br/><br/>"So, any idea what our next move is?" Palmer turned to him, her gaze cold and steady.<br/><br/>Tom sighed heavily, dread a cold weight in his chest. "First...I need to report to Osman. Then wait and see what happens when I tell her I let the flagship get boarded and a high-value asset with access to classified information get kidnapped less than two meters in front of me." Tom rubbed his face. "In the meantime, we need to figure out who the hell Halsey was communicating with. I feel like she planned this right under my goddamn nose, and I <em>let</em> her. I should have stuffed her treacherous ass in a cryo-tube from the start."<br/><br/>Palmer scowled at him pointedly. "You did not 'let' any of this happen. Christ, Tom, you could have fed her to the Crawlers, and nobody would've shed a tear," she said. "I don't know what the hell kind of game Halsey's playing, but I agree, we need to figure out what she was up to."<br/><br/>She was right. Of <em>course</em> she was right. Sarah hadn't reached the rank she held by putting her faith and her friendship in the hands of incompetent people. He needed to quit worrying about making the same mistakes his predecessor had made, and worry about taking steps to avoid them.<br/><br/>"Right. So, we have an idea where she is. Now we need to find out who or what she's with, and if it's the same entity she was communicating with before. That will tell us whether we're going to be capturing a traitor or planning a rescue op."<br/><br/>"That's more like it." Palmer grinned and gently clapped him on the shoulder</p>
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